The eagerly awaited Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 Mega Auction got underway in New Delhi from 3:30 PM IST on 27th November, setting the stage for a dramatic reshuffling of all five franchises. With a staggering 277 players registered but only 73 slots available, including 23 coveted overseas positions, every bid echoed with significance in this high-pressure battleground.
The collective purse totals ₹41.1 crore following pre-auction retentions, intensifying the contest as franchises jostled to build their ultimate squads.
UP Warriorz commanded the battlefield with the biggest purse of ₹14.50 crore and four Right to Match (RTM) cards, having retained only Shweta Sehrawat, while Gujarat Giants trailed with ₹9 crore. Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained a solid ₹6.15 crore purse. Meanwhile, defending champions Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, each retaining five players, approached the auction with ₹5.75 crore and ₹5.70 crore respectively, and no RTM cards, adding a fresh strategic twist to their bidding plans.
As the auction unfolded, multiple players acquired via RTM option, several players have already found new homes across marquee, batters, spinners, fast bowlers, wicketkeepers, and all-rounders categories. Highlights include marquee bids for Sophie Devine (₹2 crore, Gujarat Giants), Amelia Kerr (₹3 crore, Mumbai Indians), and Meg Lanning (₹1.9 crore, UP Warriorz). Star spinners like Sophie Ecclestone and Radha Yadav have drawn decisive bids, while some key talents remained unsold, keeping franchises on the edge of their seats. This auction promised not just player movements but a complete rewrite of WPL 2026’s competitive landscape.
The South African skipper, Laura Wolvaardt, moved to the Delhi Capitals at a price of 1.10 CR. The former Australian and Delhi skipper, Meg Lanning, joined hands with UP Warriorz, securing the services of the three-time runners-up skipper for a whopping 1.9 CR. Nadine de Klerk returned to RCB at 65 Lakhs. Chenille Henry brought the Caribbean Power to the Delhi Capitals set-up at 1.30 CR.
Phoebe Litchfield (1.20 CR) found a new home in UP Warriorz, World Cup winner Renuka Singh (60 Lakhs) joined Gujarat Giants, and the former White Ferns skipper Sophie Devine (2 CR), Georgia Voll (60 Lakhs), moved to RCB, joining pacer Lauren Bell (90 Lakhs) in red and gold.
Lizelle Lee (30 Lakhs), the former South African devastating opening batter. The promising young Indian pacer Titas Sadhu (30 Lakhs) was a steal at a base price for the Gujarat Giants. In the uncapped category, Sanskriti Gupta (20 Lakhs) made her way back to the Mumbai Indians. Bharti Fulmali (70 Lakhs) rejoined the Gujarat Giants via an RTM option, in a bidding war with the Mumbai Indians.
The dynamic and fierce Caribbean all-rounder, famously known as the “World Boss” Deandra Dottin (80 Lakhs), was an absolute steal from the UP Warriorz. It was just a trailer before the Abhishek Nayer-led unit caught everyone’s attention and earned applause for securing the services of the experienced Indian pace-bowling all-rounder Shikha Pandey for a whopping 2.4 CR, adding depth and experience to their pace-bowling resources.
Another set of impressive Indian pace-bowling all-rounders, Arundhati Reddy (75 Lakhs), and Pooja Vastrakar (85 Lakhs) found a new home in RCB. Wicket-keeping specialist Taniya Bhatia (30 Lakhs) was yet again trusted by the Delhi Capitals as their frontline keeper. The Gujarat Giants, who were largely inactive for the major part of the auctions, after some shopping in the marquee set.
The 2nd half of the auction saw them build a soul around their squad by acquiring the likes of Kanika Ahuja (30 Lakhs), Tanuja Kanwer (45 Lakhs), Georgia Wareham (1 CR), RCB got the eyes rolling with the addition of Grace Harris (75 Lakhs), in the accelerated round to the destructive duo of Nadine de Klerk and Richa Ghosh. While there were some stunning exclusions with the likes of Alana King, Alice Capsey, going unsold after multiple appearances. Joining the elite list of Alana King, the Australian skipper Alyssa Healy, and Heather Graham, who didn’t find any buyers.
The promising leg-spinner Priya Mishra, who represented Gujarat Giants in the previous editions, found herself on the unsold list. Towards the backend of the auction, multiple sides sealed the minimum requirement and rounded off their squads with smart, economical additions of Kim Garth and Yastika Bhatia to Gujarat Giants at 50 Lakhs each, Tara Norris (10 Lakhs) and Chloe Tryon (30 Lakhs) secured at a base price by the UP Warriorz. It also saw the return of left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque (30 Lakhs) to the Mumbai Indians at her base price.
The Under-19 superstars Gongadi Trisha (10 Lakhs) to UP Warriorz, Lucy Hamilton (10 Lakhs) to DC got their much-deserved opportunity to showcase their talent at a big stage, such as the WPL. Danielle Wyatt-Hodge (50 Lakhs) to Gujarat, Minnu Mani (40 Lakhs) to Delhi Capitals, Pratika Rawal (50 Lakhs) to UP Warriorz, and Ayushi Soni (30 Lakhs) to Gujarat Giants capped off an exhilarating auction day where the foundation was built for the upcoming 4th edition of the WPL from 9th January to 5th February 2026.
All Squads After WPL 2026 Mega Auction:
Mumbai Indians
Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Mathews, Amanjot Kaur, G Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajeevan Sajana, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Triveni Vasistha, Nalla Reddy, Saika Ishaque, Milly Illingworth
Delhi Capitals
Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Niki Prasad, Laura Wolvaardt, Chinelle Henry, Sree Charani, Sneh Rana, Lizelee Lee, Deeya Yadav, Taniyaa Bhatia, Mamatha Madiwala, Nandani Sharma, Lucy Hamilton, Minnu Mani
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Prema Rawat, Arundathi Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Grace Harris, Gautami Naik, Prathyoosha Kumar, D Hemalatha
Gujarat Giants
Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Sophie Devine, Renuka Singh, Bharti Fulmali, Titas Sadhu, Kashvee Gautam, Kanika Ahuja, Tanuja Kanwar, Georgia Wareham, Anushka Sharma, Happy Kumari, Kim Garth, Yastika Bhatia, Shivani Singh, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Ayushi Soni
UP Warriorz
Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Kiran Navgire, Harleen Deol, Kranti Goud, Asha Sobhana, Deandra Dottin, Shikha Pandey, Shipra Giri, Simran Shaikh, Tara Norris, Chloe Tryon, Suman Meena, G Trisha, Pratika Rawal
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